True extent of Labor’s tram scandal revealed

Thursday 27 September 2018

The State Government can reveal the true cost of Labor’s mismanagement of the North Terrace tram extension could result in the project costing as much as $124 million, mainly due to ongoing issues arising from the signalling system that was installed in January this year.

The signalling system was installed under the former Labor government in January and has been the source of ongoing issues that have delayed the commencement of passenger services.

The total project cost could be as high as $124 million, a $44 million blow out over the current budget, with the exact cost to be finalised through the variations process.

“This trouble-plagued tram extension is yet another example of the gross mismanagement and incompetence of the former Labor government,” said Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government Stephan Knoll.

“As we’ve been saying all along, the ongoing issues with the tram extension relate to an issue with the signalling system – which was installed way back in January.

“Labor buried this problem underground in January and now we know they have effectively buried up to $44 million along with it.

“This is just another Labor mess inherited by the new State Government.

“We’ve been working hard to get this project back on track since March to deliver a safe and functional tram service down North Terrace for the people of South Australia.

“When we came to government in March North Terrace was still a construction site and any suggestion that this project was on time is absolutely laughable.

“Let’s not forget that Labor managed to make $10 million of taxpayer money disappear when they threw this money at the project so they could cut a ribbon before the election.

“Labor tried to rush this job and they botched it.

“The new State Government will be looking to protect South Australian taxpayers at every turn to minimise the cost overruns.

“We’ll be working to minimise the cost blow to protect taxpayers to the greatest extent.

“We will be reviewing this project once it’s complete to ensure Labor’s mistakes aren’t made in future projects.”